It appears that Lincoln’s exit as Rick Grimes is a certainty, but don’t expect there to be any hard feelings from the show’s creators.

Here is the exchange between Kirkman and Smith:

Kevin Smith: “What we saw in the last month is that one of our own is going away. One of the O.G.’s. Andrew Lincoln has said that this will be his last season?”

Robert Kirkman: “It’s looking that way.” (Laughs)

Smith: “How does that grab you as the creator of the book? In your world – there have been two very different stories for Rick in the show and in the comic, and he’s still got all ten digits [fingers] in the show. How does that affect you? Because you’re like ‘Wait, wait, wait, man! You’re going , well I still got Rick going on!”

Kirkman:“Yeah well it does make the differences between the comic and the show a little bit more… pronounced. But at the end of the day it’s all about Andrew Lincoln: I mean this is a human being, this is someone I’ve known for almost a decade, this is somebody that I love. He’s been sweatin’ in Georgia away from his family for so long.

“He cares about the fans; he cares about the show deeply; he wants to do something special on the way out; we got something amazing planned; I wouldn’t want to spoil anything, but anybody who’s been a fan of his journey, who loves Rick Grimes, who loves the world of The Walking Dead: You’re going to want to see what we do.”

It’s common knowledge that the crew and cast including the zombie extras go through hell in the sweltering, humid, bug-infested Georgia summer while shooting and this series has been on for a long time, going on nine seasons. Lincoln, who has a wife and kids who stay behind in England while he is here filming, has to be feeling the pressure to lighten his load.

It sounds as though the show will do right by Rick Grimes and send him off in style. The big question now is one that won’t be answered at Comic-Con: What will ‘The Walking Dead’ do without its leading man?

Jason Motes

Jason's earliest memory is of watching 'Batman,' followed shortly by a memory of playing Batman & Robin with a friend, which entailed running outside in just their underwear and towels as capes. When adults told them they couldn't run around outside in their underwear, both boys promptly whipped theirs off and ran around in just capes. Jason's father gamely agreed to read him comic books as bedtime stories instead of 'Snow White.' (Super Friends being his favorite.) Jason saw all of the original Star Wars movies (and Indiana Jones and Superman and Star Trek...) in the theaters. Yes, he is old. And grew up in the most GEEKTASTIC decade ever, the 80s, devouring a steady diet of GI Joe, Transformers, Masters of the Universe, Princess of Power and (best of all) Jem! (It totally counts as sci fi! They had a sentient computer that projected holograms!) Jason has studied literature, journalism, film history and has a degree in creative writing (and a minor in psychology) from the University of South Alabama. He has worked as a technical writer and proofreader. These days, most of his creative energy goes into his blog and writing for this site! He lives with the cutest puppies ever.